It is said that the writer Philip Van Doren once imagined the in extremis conversation a desperate, suicidal man might have with his guardian angel. He sent the story to several magazines, but none of them were interested.

Nonetheless, he did not give up on this deeply moving tale, which feels like an unconscious reworking of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. He decided to print a few copies and send them to his friends as a Christmas greeting…  a heartfelt Christmas story about a man named George Pratt whose guardian angel grants him one final wish that quite literally changes his life.

The story opens on an iron bridge, where a downcast George leans against the railing.

In the Spanish version of the film, a gentle voice calls out to George: “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” 

George turns angrily towards a small man he has never seen before. He is stocky, well past middle age, his round cheeks flushed pink by the winter air, as though he had just shaved. Their conversation continues…

“Wouldn’t do what?” George snaps.

“What you were thinking of doing.”

“How do you know what I was thinking?”

“Oh, it’s our job to know these things,” the stranger replies casually.

The protagonist of the story feels like a failure and lives a lonely life in a small town. Desperate, he begs God to allow him never to have been born. An angel hears his plea and grants his wish, showing him what the world, his family and friends would have been had he never existed… George then discovers the importance he had in the lives of others without ever realising it.

The story’s fate turned out to be far brighter than it first appeared. The author’s patience and persistence paid off when the tale was published as a book in 1943. Three years later, Frank Capra released the film adaptation and which he himself produced: t’s a Wonderful Life. The film received five Academy Award nominations and is now widely regarded as one of the 100 greatest films in the history of American cinema. 

Make sure to watch this film, the perfect gift at Christmas time; enjoy it just as much on your own as with family.